Watermelons are a wonderful treat on hot summer days. Grow them in your garden, and enjoy an endless supply.

Needed Space

The amount of garden space required depends on the variety of watermelons you choose to grow.

If you choose to grow the 25 pound varieties such as ‘Crimson Sweet’, a round, red-fleshed melon with dark green stripes, and ‘Royal Majesty’, also a red-fleshed but oblong melon, require 6 ft. by 4 ft. garden plots for each plant.

If you have limited garden space, you can try planting the icebox watermelons such as ‘Sugar Baby’, a round, red-fleshed fruit with a very dark green skin, and ‘Yellow Doll’, with its namesake flesh and light green skin. These varieties will do fine in a 2 ft. by 4 ft. space per plant. The plants usually turn out fruit that is 5 pounds to 18 pounds.

You can even tighten the quarters a bit more with bush type varieties of watermelon like ‘Garden Baby’. These compact vines require just a 2 ft. by 2 ft. spot and can even be grown in a large container on a patio.

Although they are a warm-climate crop, certain varieties of watermelon can be grown in northern areas. Icebox types like ‘Sugar Baby’, ‘Yellow Doll’, ‘Tiger Baby’, and ‘Garden Baby’ mature in 75 to 85 days. The larger watermelons typically take 85 to 95 days to mature. It will not help to rush watermelon seeds into the ground when it is cool. The plants will only idle until warm weather arrives.

To direct seed, plant two seeds 1 inch deep in each mound and thin to one plant after they have at least two leaves.

Improve growth by controlling weeds with cultivation. This also helps aerate roots.

Transplants

Transplants are great because the plants will bear fruit about a week sooner than plants that have been direct-seeded. Start seeds 4 weeks before you plan to plant them in your garden. Any container with good drainage will work.

Watermelon seeds germinate well at temperatures of 70 to 95 F and take 4 to 6 days to emerge. Harden off transplants by reducing the frequency of watering to slow their growth. Move plants to an area with cooler temperatures for about a week. Transplants are ready for the garden when they are about 4 inches to 5 inches tall, with two or three true leaves. Set them out in well-drained soil. Watermelon plants are do very well in raised beds.

Watering

Watermelons need steady watering throughout the season, at least 1 inch per week. Blossom-end rot, caused by calcium deficiency during fruit development, can be a problem. Maintaining the proper soil moisture makes calcium available when it’s needed.

Watermelons are heavy feeders. If you do not have rich soil, they may need a boost for good growth. Laying down 3 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer or organic material per 100 sq. ft. just prior to planting can be beneficial.

The best defense against watermelon issues, such as gummy stem blight, is planting disease-resistant varieties, rotating crops, and spacing plants to allow for good air circulation.

Don’t be too worried about yellow patches sometimes found on top of watermelons. This is usually sunburn, and if you notice it, just cover the fruit with a basket or cloth.

For insects, watch out for cucumber beetles. They do the most damage early in the season when plants are young and susceptible.

Saving Space

If you don’t think you have enough room in your garden to plant watermelons, don’t worry. It is possible to train your watermelons to climb. As the vines, which should be about 2 feet apart, begin to run, send them up a sturdy trellis. It is important to tie runners to the trellis because watermelons are not natural climbers.

Once the plants begin to set fruit, support the melons with slings. These can be made with cheesecloth, nylon stocking, or old T-shirts. If the sling completely covers the fruit, it provides protection from insects. Not only do tellising save space, but it also improves air circulation, and helps prevent disease.

Harvest

Determining the optimum maturity of a watermelon can be difficult. First, inspect the curly tendril near where the watermelon attaches at the stem. It should be dead or brown.

Second, turn the melon on its side and inspect the belly. The underside of the watermelon should be creamy-white for seeded varieties and golden yellow for seedless varieties.

Third, tap the melon. A ripe watermelon will produce a deep, low-pitched sound. This is a popular way to detect ripeness, but it can sometimes take experience to understand which sound means what.

Lastly, watermelons have a shiny green color on the outside as they grow. When the watermelon matures, this coloring will dull. This method of determining ripeness also takes practice.

Ariana Marisolis a contributing staff writer for REALfarmacy.com. She is an avid nature enthusiast, gardener, photographer, writer, hiker, dreamer, and lover of all things sustainable, wild, and free. Ariana strives to bring people closer to their true source, Mother Nature. She is currently finishing her last year at The Evergreen State College getting her undergraduate degree in Sustainable Design and Environmental Science. Follow her adventures on Instagram.